We're extremely excited to announce we've redesigned www.profarmer.com and added many new features to enhance our coverage of market and ag policy news that influences your farming operation. Your new website is scheduled to launch next week. To help make this transition go as smoothly as possible, we're transferring your usernames and passwords from the current site to the new platform. News page 4 of this week's Pro Farmer newsletter outlines some of the new features of the site. But the best way to learn about the new site will be to spend time navigating through it and familiarizing yourself with its many features.

If you haven't accessed the Pro Farmer website in the past but have an email associated with your account, you can click on "forgot password" under the "Log In" tab on the top right of the website. We'll then email you your login information. If you don't have an email associated with your account or if you experience problems, call the Pro Farmer office for assistance. I encourage everyone to visit the new Pro Farmer website to take advantage of this key Member benefit.

As for news... This is a time of year when news flow can be very heavy. Traders are focused on demand developments, weather, geo-political events and countless other happenings around the world. This is also a very busy time for you in the field, making it hard to keep up-to-date on the multitude of daily happenings. One of the many benefits of being a Pro Farmer Member is that we gather the news/events and present what's important to the markets and your farming operation in a concise and easy-to-read format via the weekly newsletter, daily electronic services and our website. We do the "heavy lifting" for you.

I know many of you are getting anxious to get fieldwork done. In some cases, some of you haven't turned a wheel yet. Unfortunately, the weather outlook isn't overly promising. The National Weather Service is calling below-normal temps across the eastern two-thirds of the country through May 8 (the latest update period as of Thursday afternoon). Above-normal precip is also expected across the eastern Corn Belt through this date. If this forecast is realized, corn planting will very likely remain below the five-year average pace into mid-May -- when the "optimal" window for corn planting starts to close. Last year proved corn planted after (even well after) mid-May can still produce favorable yields. But the later plantings push past the May 10-15 timeframe, the more important weather becomes at an after pollination. It also requires some extra time on the end of the growing season.

The other factor that comes into play with delayed plantings is acreage. Most thought March corn planting intentions were low. The deeper corn plantings extend into May, however, the less likely it becomes corn plantings will push above March intentions. But with that said, some central Corn Belt producers have already or are openly considering ramping up corn plantings. One of the many things the corn market must figure out over the coming weeks is how many corn acres will be seeded.